Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. Buys 3,341 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. raised its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,345 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 3,341 shares during the period. Watsco comprises about 6.4% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $12,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Perbak Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 107.2% in the 3rd quarter. Perbak Capital Partners LLP now owns 3,494 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Watsco by 29.3% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 199,736 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,753,000 after acquiring an additional 45,216 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,184,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Watsco during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,752,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its holdings in Watsco by 16.4% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 747 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of WSO opened at $368.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $521.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $393.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $376.66.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.26). Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 99.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on WSO shares. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price objective on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $409.00.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.